Do you think that $71,000 a year plus benefits is a fair wage for 178 days of work?

I googled their salary schedule, alpine sun gets it all wrong. You'd have to have a PhD and teach for 20 years or so to get the salary they're polling about. First year teachers make way less than half of the salary polled about fyi.

This information is being taken directly from Susan Lancaster's (an Alpine Teacher) letter to the editor that was published in our February 13th issue, page 4. She states in her letter the salary of the teachers. Plus, many of our teachers are veteran teachers on the upper end of the pay scale. The question does not indicate that all teachers are receiving this payscale, nor does it indicate that we are even talking about teachers. It's a salary for a number of days worked.

How much does the superintendent and any other district level administrator make with all of their perks and extra benefits. I am a teacher, but not in the AUSD. I know that in my district the district level administrators receive many benefits that the regular employee of the district do not receive. These benefits include car allowances, extra health benefits, contributions to Tax Sheltered Annuities (TSA's). How much money and benefits are the administrators giving up? I doubt they are giving up any.

I do think that $70k is plenty of money. Considering the economy, $70k a year is a really good salary. Many people are well below the poverty level right now, just because the economy sucks.
I know a lot of people with Master's Degrees that would love $70k a year.

It appears to me that AUSD needs to get rid of current teachers. Hire all brand new teachers. who will be grateful for a job and benefits offered. These teachers are part of CalPERS (retirement system). Taxpayers will be paying part of their retirement benefits, yet they are not willing to service in the public employee job. They choose to strike and cause more issues for themselves and the school district. It is a shame.

This is the wrong question. Saying this as a parent who took my child to school today and will do so every school day throughout the strike, it is not up to any of us to say what is too much or too little to pay anyone. The question should be what's the best that we can do for teachers under the current financial crisis in the district? The question is how can we improve enrollment, market our amazing programs, improve student experience, fix our broken reputation and mend fences? I will not vote on this question, but come up with something appropriate and I'll be the first to chime in.

I completely agree that we should improve enrollment, market our amazing programs, improve student experience, fix our broken reputation and mend all the fences. I'm sorry that you dislike the question, but it is a question that begs to be asked. Many are unaware of the salaries that we are talking about especially in this economy.